


Ex Officio

by faespresso



Series: Beacon University [2]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - College/University, Gen, POV Third Person, headcanon heavy, this story might? switch between ozpin and oscars pov idk yet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-10
Updated: 2017-07-10
Packaged: 2018-11-30 05:54:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11457345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/faespresso/pseuds/faespresso
Summary: By the virtue of his office.Professor Ozpin is Beacon's anthrolopology and sociology professor, but as time goes on, he finds that he has difficulty with his work. His solution is to find an assistant to help ease his workload.[Discontinued]





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, before reading, please note that when I say this alternate universe is headcanon heavy, I mean it. The characters will be written mostly on my own personal interpretation.
> 
> That being said, I am very excited to share this story! This is only one story in this alternate universe that I am planning, and I can't wait to explore it.
> 
> I used [ Professor Layton's office](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-10akOhyxGNQ/VBpm1GB1ifI/AAAAAAABgj8/GqXsCl0Vkxg/s1600/PLV01Look.gif) as a reference for Ozpin's office.

“Forgive my tardiness, you three.” Ozpin apologized as he entered his office, papers sticking out of a thick manilla folder. “I just had to retrieve some papers from my classroom.”

“It’s okay, sir!” One of them chirped, a young girl with piercing silver eyes.

“We weren’t waiting long.” A girl with gold eyes that contrasted with her dark skin assured him, not even glancing at the professor. In fact, she was very preoccupied with a book in her hands. 

A lanky blonde boy situated on the far end of the sofa said nothing, but his nervousness was evident in the speed of his bouncing leg.

“That’s a relief to hear. Now, about the assistant job… I will start with Mister Jaune Arc, as he was the first to sign up.” The blonde boy on the sofa paled even more, as if it were possible. 

“No need to be so worried, it’ll be a very simple task.” The professor assured him, making his way to his desk, and setting the pile on the one part that wasn’t covered by papers. Grabbing an emerald green mug that had what seemed to be gemstones jutting out from the bottom half of the cup.

“I have not had my hot chocolate yet, so if you would go and fetch me some, Mister Arc.” 

The blonde pushed himself off the couch, and reached a shaking hand out to the mug.

“Be careful with it. I made it myself.” Ozpin warned, as Jaune took it from his hands.

“I will, sir.” He said. Slowly, agonizingly slow, he walked out of the office. 

At this rate, he’ll need to cancel his classes today if he wasn’t back sooner.

**

After what seemed like an eternity, the boy returned, holding the drink that he was requested to fetch. He held it out to him, his hands shaking even more than they had at the start if the task, and the professor took it from him.

He peered into the drink, which was very dark, concerningly dark. But the boy worked so hard to get it, so he took a cautious sip of it anyways. 

It was the most disgusting drink he had ever drank in his life. He had half a mind to spit it out, but it would be extremely rude. 

“Mister Arc, this is not hot chocolate.” Ozpin said, after he forced himself to swallow the mystery concoction that he had been served by the blond freshman.

“They were out of hot chocolate mix, sir.” The student said meekly. “So I just bought a chocolate bar and added it to some coffee.” 

“I… see.” Certainly an unorthodox way of going about it, and he would praise him for such a solution, but…

“Why does it taste so salty?”

“Ren said if I added salt, it would cut the bitterness.”

The professor frowned, and lowered the cup onto the nearest surface. 

“How much salt did you add, exactly?” 

“A whole packet.” The student added sheepishly, averting his gaze. “I’ll just… see myself out, sir.” The boy was a mere blur as he sped out of the office, and Ruby let out a low whistle. 

"I’ve never seen him move so fast.” Blake said in bewilderment, as she lifted her head up from her novel.

“You’re up next, Miss Rose.” Ozpin announced, clearing his desk, and opening up his ancient laptop. “I assume you know your way around a computer?” He asked, as he gestured her over.

“I sure do, sir!” 

“Excellent.” Ozpin smiled and set down a stack of papers next to her. “Please transfer the grades written at the top to this computer program. It is very straightforward, and they have all been alphabetized for you.” He took his mug, the one with the concoction that Jaune had made, and dumped it into the garbage. 

“I will be back soon.” He announced before making his way to the teacher’s lounge to get his hot chocolate fix.

******

Content with his drink, he walked to his office with a spring in his step. Upon opening his door, he was greeted with what appeared to be a mummification ritual: paper towels were strewn everywhere. His amber eyes followed the mess to find Ruby hunched over his desk.

“Miss Rose, what--”

“Professor!” She squeaked, spinning around. “IspilledmydrinkeeverywhereandyourlaptopisbrokenandI’mREALLYsorry!” The youth fired out, her arms becoming mere blurs in his vision.

“Deep breaths. I didn’t catch any of that.” 

The girl inhaled so much air, her cheeks puffed out, and after a few seconds of holding it, she exhaled and began to speak--

“She spilled her soda everywhere and it got on your laptop.” Blake said casually.

“Blaaaake!” Ruby cried, spinning around to the girl on the sofa.

“We cleaned it up.” 

“You mean I cleaned it up!” Ruby huffed. 

“Oh, and it won’t turn on, professor.” 

“My laptop?”

“Yes, your laptop!” She scurried to his desk, scooped up something, scurried back to him, and held out the object to him.

“I’m really sorry, sir!” 

“Just a minute.” He said, and moved to set his mug on the nearest clean surface. The young girl placed the mystery object in his hands gingerly, and he studied it. Paper towels were on the surface, and the weight was quite familiar...

“Oh dear.” He muttered to himself, entranced by the mummified laptop. His classes were to be canceled after all, since he prepared a presentation for his classes today. If only he had put it on the cloud or a thumb drive, then he would just need to borrow one of his colleague’s computers. 

A bright side to this was that his laptop was cheap, and wasn’t that great anyways. He opened his mouth to assure Miss Rose that she actually did him a favor-- 

“She already left, professor.” Blake said from the sofa.

Ah. He set the computer next to his hot cocoa, and grabbed the drink. With a couple of swirls of the mug, he took a long drink, the temperature comfortably warm.

“Okay, Miss Belladonna, you’re up next.”

“What do you need me to do?” She asked, closing her book and looking at him, her golden eyes staring intensely into him.

“As you can see, there are papers everywhere. I need you to gather them up and sort them. There may be different years on each paper, so please sort those by year first and then alphabetize them.”

“So… stack them up by year and then alphabetize each stack?”

“Yes!”  Phew, finally something that could go right. “Please don’t go anywhere, I need to make a trip to my classroom.”

“I’m not going to.” The student assured him.

**

When he returned, his office was very much in the condition he left it, albeit much more pristine. Papers were neatly stacked on his desk, and he breathed a sigh of relief. 

“What an excellent job, Miss Belladonna!” He said, unable to stop himself from smiling as he made his way to his desk, past the girl on the sofa reading away. A small part of him expected an egregious error in the papers, but as he thumbed through them (she even clipped them together) they were all neatly organized.

"Thank you, you’ve saved me a great deal of time.” 

“I don’t want the job.” The girl said, taking him completely by surprise.

“If I may pry… why?” He inquired, turning around in time to see the girl push herself off the sofa and tuck her book under her arm.

“I just have things to do, sir.” She said, walking towards the door.

“Oh, I see. Well, have a good day.” He offered out to her.

Her response was merely the creaking of his door as it opened and shut.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sleep has eluded Ozpin the night before, since he wondered Blake's reasons for refusing the job all night. But still, he needs to get to work, as he has lessons and assignments to plan.
> 
> But those plans need to be put on hold, as someone is waiting to see him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoo boy! I can't believe how quickly I cranked out this chapter, my wrists hurt a ton. 
> 
> But I'm excited to share this chapter, as it has one of my favorite things: worldbuilding! 
> 
> A lot of things have been derived from actual mythology, so see the notes at the end for a full explanation.

Ozpin shuffled into the hallway where his office was. Sleep eluded him the night before, and he pondered and pondered who was to be his assistant. 

Jaune Arc was very unsure of himself, but he was creative and came up with a solution that not even Ozpin would think of. Yes, he had great potential, and he would not find it as his assistant.

Ruby Rose was energetic and bright. She was quick to clean up a mess she had caused, which signified that she could think quick on her feet. This job would make no use of her strengths.

Blake Belladonna was quick, tidy, and focused. Never before had his papers been so organized before, and she even used a binder clip to separate them by year.

Logically, Miss Belladonna was clear to be his new assistant... If she wanted the job, that is.

In fact, most of the night was spent trying to figure out her reasons for not accepting. He tried to constantly urge himself to just accept her decision and move on, but those thoughts fell on deaf ears as the night continued. 

The train of thought he kept coming back to was if she was in trouble or not. All these fantastical ideas of her being involved with crime was very distressing, she was still a child in his eyes (yes, even though she was a college student). She spoke so vividly of the Faunus Riots in her report for his sociology course, it was almost as if she were there. 

That, he had no doubts about. It was clear during his lectures and class discussions, her bow would twitch ever so slightly, it would take a sharp eye to see that. He was used to noticing the tiniest movement, something that was a double edged sword. 

But why sign up for the job and then refuse it? 

_ ‘Oh heavens, back at this again.’  _ He mentally sighed.  _ ‘It is none of my business. I have lessons and assignments to plan!’ _ To table this train of thought, he imagined a safe, and he scribbled his thoughts--

“Excuse me…” A voice called out, and he involuntarily jolted. His amber eyes scanned the hallway as quick as he could, his whole body tense.

_ ‘Must be my imagination then.’  _ He shrugged it off, and took a step forward. 

“Excuse me, sir?” 

There was that voice again! Where was it coming from? He looked around even more frantically, and then, movement out of the corner of his eye, to his right. A look down, and...

“Oh!” He gasped. The owner of the voice, at least he hoped this was the owner, was a boy with skin the color of brownstone clay, tousled black hair, and swirling green and hazel eyes. 

“Are you Professor Ozpin?” 

“Yes, that’s me.” 

“I’m... uh... here for the assistant job.” He rummaged through his pockets, and pulled out a folded up piece of paper, and held it out to the professor. Ozpin gingerly took the paper from the youth, and studied it.

This poster was from the school’s bulletin board in the atrium. This was the only poster he had ever put up in the whole school, and told students to either sign up in his class or to see him personally. 

“Excellent.” He said, folding up the paper and handing it back to the stranger. “Follow me, please.” 

With some mental readjusting and looking around, he walked to his office door, unlocked it, and entered. This university was very trustworthy, but he locked his office as a precaution. 

“Have a seat.” He gestured to the sofa, and made his way to his own desk. The papers had all been filed away, the laptop sealed in his drawers as he had no idea what to do with it just yet. He sat in his leather chair (a gift left to him from the previous owner of this office) and adjusted it to face the youth. 

“What’s your name?” 

“Oscar Pine.” His posture was straight and steady much like the tree he shared his name with.

“How did you find out about this job, Mister Pine?” 

“My aunt has a friend who works here… her name is Miss Goldfinch.” 

“Oh, the dean’s secretary?” In no way was he surprised, she was very chatty and friendly. 

“Mhm. Well, my aunt wanted me to get out of the house more.”

Get out of the house more?

“Hold on just a moment.” He held up a hand. “Are you… not a student here?”

“No sir…” He looked away from the gaze of the professor, and his posture wavered. “I just moved here from Mistral. I’m… only fourteen.” 

“But why come here? A boy your age would surely prefer something other than spending his time in an office.” Ozpin found himself blurting out.

He was taken back by this, and his leg began to bounce, ever so slightly.

“Mi tía, um, I mean my aunt…” He stammered, his eyes searching the office wildly. 

Ozpin mentally cursed himself for this social blunder. 

“Mister Pine, it’s fine. I will still give you a chance.” The professor assured him. 

But he had no task to test him with. He couldn’t force him to fix his laptop, or to grade papers… 

Papers… papers… he had asked Blake to organize some old papers, some that definitely anthropology related. Hmm...

“Mister Pine… what do you know of Mistral mythology?”

“Mythology?” That seemed to calm him, as his leg stopped bouncing, and he sat up straighter. “Um.. I know the myth of Izamiko and the creation of Ginshi…”

“Please educate me on those figures. Take how long as you wish, I have no classes today.” Ozpin said, crossing one ankle over the other, placing his elbows on the armrests and leaning forward.

“...okay.” He adjusted himself on his sofa, leaning back ever so slightly.

“So… Izamiko was one of the creator gods, and he took the form of a dragon. Not only did he help to create Remnant, he created Anima to serve as his home. Haven is named Haven since it is said that was where he lived. After hearing that Aidohel was tricking humanity and luring them down to the underworld to devour them, he became enraged.”

“Aidohel? What a peculiar name.” Ozpin said, feigning innocence. “Do you know the origin behind the name, as well as why that deity is referred to as they?” 

“Because they were once two separate gods.” Oscar answered. “But they revolted against the gods and were forced together to become one deity. They felt their punishment was unfair and created the Grimm to torment the gods’ favorite creation: humanity.” 

“How did they create the Grimm?”

“They ate the humans they lured down there and spat them back out. Their rage and hatred for the gods and humanity was absorbed by the humans, transforming them into the Grimm and began to terrorize humanity in their place.”

“Well, Izamiko was enraged, but he knew better than to confront them. He bided his time, and waited in Haven. Soon, the story of a great warrior who had lost her eyesight to the Grimm reached his ears. He sent a priest out to fetch the warrior, and when she arrived to Haven, Izamiko appeared to speak with her personally.”

“He told her that he would bless her with new eyes that would strike fear in the heart of the Grimm and even Aidohel themself would be struck with fear. However, if she accepted new eyes, she was now vowing that her, and her descendants would always oppose the Grimm and Aidohel. She agreed, and he instructed the priest the remove the brightest silver scales from his person. The priest obeyed, and the dragon replaced her eyes with the scales. He named her Ginshi, and true to his word, the Grimm cowered at the sight of her silver eyes.”

The professor looked at him expectantly, and the youth sheepishly grinned.

“That’s all I can remember.” 

“I’m impressed, Mister Pine.” Ozpin said, pushing himself off his chair. “That was a great deal of information you recited.” He stepped to the small table by his door, and knelt down, his body already beginning to protest. With some blind flailing his fingers brushed a handle, and the professor tugged at it, releasing cold air.   

“Would you like some water?”

“Yes, sir.” 

He pulled out two bottles of water, one for himself and the other for the youth on his sofa. Not wanting to startle the boy, he walked over to his sitting area and set down the bottle in front of him. 

“As you may know, mythology is a way to explain the world around us that doesn’t involve science. Most historians will scoff at these words, but it's true. If one were to look closely, they will see that there is a nugget of truth to them.” The professor explained, walking over to study his bookshelf for no particular reason.

“Take the silver eyes. Have you ever met someone with silver eyes in the flesh?”

“No.”

“That’s because it’s a very rare occurrence, genetically speaking. The ancient people, our ancestors, saw them and deduced they must be important to the gods.” He turned away from the bookshelf, and placed himself back in his seat.

“I had no idea.” The youth said, his mixed eyes wide. 

“Well, Mister Pine-- that’s rather a mouthful, may I just call you Oscar?”

He nodded.

“Well, Oscar, are you still interested in this job? You’ll get thirty Lien for every day you work, and you’ll only work weekdays.” 

There was a moment of silence as the professor studied the youth (perhaps a bit too intensely), and the youth looked around the room, taking it in.

“I’ll have to ask my aunt about it.” He responded.

“Understandable.” He spun around, and rummaged through his many desk drawers (why did he have so many), to fetch a pen and some scrap paper. He scribbled down his phone number, and spun around and held it out to the youth.

“I’ll be waiting for your answer.”

**

It was well past supper, and Ozpin’s hands were fully immersed in hot soapy water when his phone rang.

“Just a moment, please.” He told the device in his pocket, and removed his hands from the sink and wiped them off with a dish towel lying nearby. He pulled his phone from his pocket, and pressed the green button.

“This is Professor Ozpin.” 

"Oh, thank goodness I have the right number! This is... you know me as Oscar's aunt." 

"Oh yes, of course." He decided against asking for her to repeat her name, it would make the conversation considerably awkward. 

"So, when can he start?" 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Izamiko is named after Izanagi, one of the creator gods of Japan. I changed the -nagi to -miko (seer) since I envision him to be an oracle type of character.
> 
> Ginshi is taken from gin (silver) and senshi (warrior). I considered gin senshi, but felt it would be too obvious, so I went with ginshi. 
> 
> Aidohel is a bit trickier. Aidoneus is another name for Hades, who is the Greek god of the Underworld. Hel is the name of a Norse goddess who looks after the afterlife of the same name. 
> 
> As always, your comments are appreciated!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Oscar, Ozpin realizes that maybe the chaos he calls a bookshelf isn't organized as well as he thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Truth be told, it took me a great deal of time to write this chapter. I had no idea where I wanted it to go, and originally Jaune and Ruby were to make an appearence! They did not, but I do hope to use the original plot on it's own. 
> 
> In the last chapter, you know that I decided to make my own version of Remnant lore, using actual mythological figures as a reference. You will see that again in this chapter, but with historical events.

Never before had Ozpin seen someone study a bookshelf with such an intense gaze until now. Oscar was looking at his selection of books, he asked to borrow a book or two concerning the mythology of Vale. 

“Perhaps you could get a book on Vacuo and compare to Vale.” The professor offered, his voice playful. 

The boy did not respond.

Ah, well. It was on him to try to ask a question to someone who had focused all their attention on to a task. He really must put his energy to something like trying to figure out his new computer. So many new features to figure out, and no, searching for a guide on them on Dodona did not help! 

With some fumbling, how did laptops get to be so sleek and thin nowadays, he managed to open the device.

“Hey, uh, professor?” His assistant called out as soon as he pressed the power button on his computer.

“Yes, what is it?” He called out, typing the passcode into his computer.

“Your bookshelf needs to be rearranged.” 

That was enough to tear him away from the laptop, and he swiveled around to face his assistant, who looked hopelessly lost. 

Hm, even though he knew where all the books were by now, a little organization never hurt anyone. After all, he wasn’t the only one reading these books anymore.

“Ah, well, no time like the present.” Ozpin remarked. “Some painter’s tape must be around here…”

**

The plan was simple: to mark each shelf with a continent and fill it with each book that was related to it, ordered alphabetically.

It took them many times to get the pieces of tape the perfect size, even more for the marker to work

“Which continent has your favorite mythology?” Oscar asked, sticking the tape that had ‘Solitas’ written neatly onto a filled shelf set level with his shoulders.

“That’s a difficult decision.” The professor confessed, setting aside a neat stack of books that had been alphabetically arranged. “I appreciate the Anima and the western Sanus myths, as they contributed much to the artistic expressions of Remnant as a whole. In fact, many epics have been recorded to have originally come from what is now Vacuo. Mistral had what is considered the earliest form of modern theatre… And eastern Sanus was a bit more of a religious.. er… free for all? No, no…” He paused, staring at the tower of Sanus related books, hoping for the correct word. 

“...Well, religion was very important to the eastern Sanus region.”

“Like the religion that appeared in Solitas?” Oscar asked, taking away the stack of books to set back on the shelf. 

“No, that religion is monotheistic. These civilizations were polytheistic, and they had a diverse array of gods.” 

“I’ve never heard of them.” The youth remarked, as he settled himself on the sofa near the professor and began to sort another stack of books.

“Not many schools teach about them, which deeply saddens me. Such a rich mythology!” He felt excitement bubble up within his chest-- but forced himself to swallow it down, knowing fully well if he started rambling he would not stop. “But I understand why.” The professor sighed, staring pensively at the books before him.

“Why aren’t they taught?”

“Well, for the most part, they’re not exactly fit for everyone. Believe me when I say that. That book at the bottom is not apart of Sanus at all, give it here.” Oscar took the offending book, and handed it to the professor, who in turn set it at the edge of the table.

“Another reason is…” He gulped, what he was about to explain always made him rather emotional (even if he did not show it). “...that most of any evidence of the civilization’s lives and stories on this continent were altered or destroyed by conquerors from Solitas.” 

“...whoa.” The youth breathed. “I knew they did a lot of exploring and conquering but…” 

“Switch the second book near the top with the one above it.” The professor advised, pointing to the offending book.

Oscar obeyed, and slid the books into his arms, and marched to the shelf. 

“Do you know why they--”

“Resources.” Ozpin cut in, his tone much more sharper than he intended. A beat of silence, and the professor closed his eyes deeply inhaled.

“I’m sorry for my tone, Oscar. That is a little bit of a sore spot of me, I have a personal grudge against them as a scholar and as a descendant of that civilization.” 

“I thought they were all wiped out.” His assistant said, dropping another hefty stack of books onto the coffee table. 

A smile could not help but creep its way to his face.

“Well, you will learn in history that humans and Faunus alike are very resilient. Now, let’s turn this conversation onto a much lighter topic.” 

A few moments of silence passed as Ozpin organized the miscellaneous books that had been set to the side and his assistant organizing his own pile of books. 

“Did you see Miss Goldfinch’s new glasses? The neon pink ones?” Oscar offered. 

“Oh, yes I did. Horribly clashing, isn’t it?” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so, a lot of explaining here. Here's how I've imagined the continents/kingdoms:
> 
> Vale = USA, but with elements of Mexico and South America. Ancient civilization mixed with Ancient Greece as well as the Aztecs, Mayans and Incas. 
> 
> Atlas/Mantle = Europe. Ancient civilization based on Vikings, but like if they were Victorian England. 
> 
> Mistral = Asia, more heavily using Japan as a reference. Ancient Civilization is pretty much the same. 
> 
> Vacuo: Egypt. Ancient civilization was arts based, lots of culinary innovation, songs and epics. 
> 
>  
> 
> Now, you may be wondering why Ozpin acted the way he did. Well, remember when I said this is headcanon heavy? Cause I meant it, I personally envision Ozpin (and Oscar!) as Latino, more specifically, Mexican. (Yes, I know Mexico does not exist in Remnant, just roll with it). If you know more about Mexican history, his behavior will make sense. If you need a reference, my icon is a great example of how I personally imagine him! 
> 
> Your comments are always appreciated!

**Author's Note:**

> If you have found some errors, please drop a comment! Or if you just enjoyed this story, your comment is very appreciated!


End file.
